The RACGP will receive 87 additional training places in 2028, including 37 in rural areas, but ACRRM says the government is overlooking evidence about where doctors are most needed.
The federal government will fund a record 2100 GP training places in 2028, but rural doctors say the distribution of additional places fails to adequately address Australia’s persistent rural workforce shortages.
The announcement will see the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners receive an additional 87 Commonwealth-funded training places, bringing its total to 1627 in 2028, including 675 in rural and remote areas.
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine will receive an additional 25 places, but ACRRM president Dr Rod Martin told The Medical Republic the allocation did not reflect the evidence about where doctors were most needed or most likely to remain practising.
Dr Martin said the college had demonstrated strong long-term workforce retention, with 85% of its trainees remaining in their intended locations five to 10 years later.
“We know that 85% of those people in five to 10 years’ time are going to be exactly where they said they were going to be, and they’re going to be doing the things they said they were going to do,” he said.
“RACGP has effectively got 100 places, and you could arguably say we should be moving workforce and providing the additional numbers for where the health needs are the greatest.
“We’re ignoring the evidence.”
The government’s announcement followed strong demand for Commonwealth-funded GP training, with more than 2000 places expected to be delivered in 2027.
At least half of the 2028 training places will support rural GP and rural generalist training, with the program delivered through the RACGP and ACRRM.
The RACGP’s allocation included 37 additional rural training places, increasing its rural and remote training capacity from 638 to 675 places in 2028.
RACGP president Dr Michael Wright welcomed the investment, saying it reflected growing interest among junior doctors in general practice.
“This is a fantastic result for the future of general practice and the millions of Australians who rely on their GP every day,” he said.
“We’ve seen what happens when governments invest in general practice. More doctors are choosing this rewarding specialty, and more Australians will benefit from having a specialist GP they can turn to throughout their lives.”
Dr Wright said the college had filled every available training place for 2027 during the first round of applications.
“Interest in general practice has never been stronger. We filled every available training place for 2027 during the first round of applications, showing just how many doctors want to pursue a career in our specialty,” he said.
“These additional places mean we can help even more of those doctors realise that ambition.”
He said the expansion of rural training was particularly important for improving access to primary care outside major cities.
“We’re particularly pleased to see another 37 rural training places on top of the 638 in 2028. Training doctors in rural communities is one of the best ways to build a strong, sustainable local GP workforce,” he said.
But Dr Martin said the government needed to go further in directing training places towards areas of greatest healthcare need.
He argued that expanding the rural generalist workforce was fundamental to addressing poorer health outcomes and persistent barriers to accessing care in rural and remote Australia.
“We’re still, still, still ignoring the one-third,” he said, referring to Australians living outside metropolitan areas.
“It really and truly is time that we stop it, because there’s no justice in it.”
Dr Martin said ACRRM’s training model was specifically designed to select doctors with an understanding of rural and remote practice and prepare them to remain in communities where they were needed.
“We know that our training provides the right skill set, and we know longitudinally we’re choosing the right people into the program,” he said.
“We are interviewing people and know that they’ll get through their exams and know that they’ll stay in the place they need to stay.
“If you don’t have the people in place, then you can’t fix the problems that those people have when it comes to their health.”
He said rural workforce shortages also meant patients were missing out on healthcare services, including preventive care that could improve health outcomes and reduce premature deaths.
Dr Martin said funding additional rural generalist training places would help address these gaps by ensuring doctors were available to provide care and help patients navigate the health system.
He said the government should give greater weight to ACRRM’s workforce retention data when determining future training allocations.
Despite these concerns, Dr Martin said ACRRM welcomed the investment and the commitment to rural training.
“With at least half dedicated to rural generalist and rural GP training, this investment supports the sustained strong growth ACRRM has experienced in demand for training,” Dr Martin said in a statement released by the federal government.
“We look forward to working with the government to expand opportunities for doctors to train where they are most needed.”
The additional places complemented the government’s GP training incentives, which started in the first semester of 2026. The measures included $30,000 salary incentives and payments to support eligible registrars taking study and parental leave.
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Dr Wright said the financial support was helping make general practice a more attractive career choice.
“These investments recognise the incredible contribution GPs make to Australia’s health system and help ensure general practice remains a rewarding career for the next generation of doctors,” he said.
Dr Martin also welcomed the incentive payments, saying they provided valuable encouragement for doctors choosing rural medicine.
The Australian General Practice Training program provides three to four years of full-time training, or the part-time equivalent, leading to specialist GP or rural generalist qualifications.
Federal health minister Mark Butler said the additional training places would help strengthen the primary care workforce across Australia.
“The Albanese Government is delivering a record number of GP training places year on year, growing the GP workforce in areas that need them most,” he said.
“GPs play a vital role in the health of our nation and our investment is backing more doctors to train and remain practising in communities right across Australia.”
The government also pointed to an increase in doctor registrations, from 6200 in 2022 to more than 10,300 in 2025-26, as evidence of broader workforce growth.
